7 Ways to Set Realistic Goals for Your Business
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According to achievement expert, Doug Vermeeren, of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, “The first step in developing your future goals is looking backwards, conducting an objective year end review, determining where you wanted to go and looking at the core values you wanted to attain.”
In order to learn to set realistic goals for your business, you need to have specific, concrete ideas as opposed to vaguely constructed ideas. You need to pay close attention to the time you set to reach your goals as well as attributing equal importance to the stability and growth of your business. You need to understand your past failures and successes, and you must know your products and services inside out. Finally you must know what your competition is up to in order to move forward yourself.
Setting realistic goals is an important aspect of starting a new business, whether it is home based or otherwise. Before you set new goals, look backwards and see if you attain the goals you set for yourself for the previous year. If not, then take a close look at what went wrong and in what areas you need to improve in.
Source: Small Business Toolbox (http://www.nfib.com)
Tips for Realistic Goal Setting
There are plenty of ways that you can set goals that will inspire you, as opposed to drag you down.
Specific, not vague
Base the goals you set on specific, concrete ideas. Know where you want to go and create a time line to get there. Be realistic, but also reserve the right to be flexible if need be. Remember that your goals as a small business owner do not conform to the same strict standards of those that were set for you when you worked at a nine-to-five job. Break your goals down into smaller parts if that can make it easier for you. Think long term, but work in the short term to get the job done.
Be mindful of time
Many of the goals you set may take months to show the results you long for. Base the goals on these pre-determined times and track the progress you make from month to month (or if you prefer, week to week).
Stability and growth
When you first start out on the entrepreneur track with a small business, you are aiming for a sense of stability. You are establishing yourself and that is what you most want- to get yourself on track and to keep yourself there. But do not forget the importance of development and growth to your business. Present yourself with challenges once you are stable, and this will engage your interest and help pique your creativity for new ideas. Keep growing, but learn to find the balance between stability and growth. They are both equally important to your success.
Not too high and not too low
Realistic goals must be goals that are realistic to the person who sets them. Do not set goals that are impossible to attain, as this will cause you to become discouraged and will affect your feelings towards your work. On the other hand, goals that are set too
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You should set goals so that they are slightly out of your immediate grasp, but no so far that there is no hope of achieving them. No one will put serious effort into achieving a goal that they believe is unattainable. However, remember that your belief that a goal is unrealistic may be incorrect. If this could be the case, you can resolve to change this belief by using imagery effectively. |
Failures and successes
In order to set realistic goals, you must be willing to closely examine both your past failures and your successes to understand where you went wrong in the former, and where you did right, in the latter. You then need to take this pertinent information and reassess the situation you are presently in. The clearer you are about where you want to take your business, the easier it will be to pave the path.
Products and services understood
In order to take stock of your small business, you must understand your products and/or services in every respect. This, in turn, will go a long way in helping you learn how to target the appropriate market. Through knowing these things, you can set goals that are realistic for your business.
Look to the competition
Is your competition heading in the same direction as you are not? Do they know something you don’t? Are they succeeding in areas you are not? To set realistic goals, you must know what you are up against. If you don’t, it will be even more difficult to get to where you want to go.
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Disclaimer: Ideawala.com does not recommend or endorse the products or services mentioned by the authors. We have not verified authors' credentials. We do not guarantee the accuracy of the information in the article or the earnings claims. Nothing in this article should be construed as business, legal or tax advice. Please consult a professional business advisor, an attorney or an account for specific advice in your situation.
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